American Airlines Mechanics Reach Majority Support for Teamsters at Key Stations

TULSA, Okla., Feb. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Teamsters Airline Division and the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition (TAMC) announced that at many maintenance stations across the country, American Airlines mechanics and related workers have reached a majority of cards signed for Teamster representation.

With a majority of cards at the major hubs in hand, the Teamsters Union is nearing majority support throughout the system and is one step closer to filing for an election with the National Mediation Board. The union has received the majority of cards in Tulsa, OK, Fort Worth, TX, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Newark, NJ, Tampa, Atlanta, Washington, DC, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Phoenix, New York's Kennedy airport and DWH in Texas.

"With 11,000 workers spread out across the country, this has been a major undertaking that has been led by AA mechanics from the beginning," said Chris Moore, a representative of the Teamsters Airline Division and Chairman of the TAMC. "It is their passion and desire to improve their representation that drove this campaign and enabled us to get to this point in such a relatively short time."

In Sept. 2012, the AA mechanics kicked off their campaign to seek industry-leading representation with the Teamsters Union. While facing the challenges of bankruptcy and a merger with US Airways, the AA mechanics in conjunction with the TAMC and the Teamsters Airline Division have been working tirelessly to gain majority support for the union.

"This is a huge step in the right direction in a short amount of time," said Joe Moberly, 24-year American Airlines mechanic at the Tulsa hub. "We are well on our way to being a part of the union that represents more aviation mechanics than any other in the nation – the Teamsters."

In addition to the announcement, Teamster organizers, Teamster mechanics from other airlines, AA mechanics and US Airways mechanics will engage in door-to-door canvassing over the weekend to gather even more cards.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 80,000 workers throughout the airline industry in every craft and class, including 18,000 airline mechanics and related at 10 carriers – more than any other union.